Forgive, and to Forget
by Weeping Blood
Summary: Dreams become a reality. Armin helps Annie accept her past, and to move on into the future with him. (One-shot, ArminxAnnie)


A/N: Hello, this is my first SNK fanfiction -pats self on back- Review if you like, and please review any opinions that can help me improve!~ This is merely a one-shot, but I'm planning on making a multi-chapter story later. I don't write with fancy words like most people do, so like.. don't expect anything extravagant, but I do always check my spelling before publishing.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Shingeki No Kyojin~

* * *

_''I'm sorry.''_

_''Forgive me please.''_

_''They made me do it.''_

_''Armin...''_

_''I'm sorry.''_

_''...Help me, please.'' _The voice cried out.

Slowly after, blue eyes fluttered open. His golden locks were ruffled and messy, as he yawned and stretched. Blinking, he realized whose voice it was that was speaking to him in his dream.

''...Annie..'' The blonde boy didn't seem too surprised, he actually seemed a little concern since her voice seemed more clearer than it did in his other dreams. It felt real, like she was physically speaking to him, even though that was impossible.

Standing up from bed, he walked to the bathroom and opened up the water faucet to wash his face off. Although, he couldn't get Annie out of his mind. Regardless of it being 3 years since she had crystallized herself, Armin's thoughts somehow drifted back to the girl. Constant dreams of her crying out to him for forgiveness.

''Would I forgive her?'' He threw more water on his face before taking a glance at his reflection in the mirror, his appearance hadn't changed too much in the last few years. His hair was a an inch or two longer, still the same style, and Armin even grew a few inches taller.

Sighing, he decided maybe he'd visit her again. It became a habit of him visiting her at least once a week, just to check up on her. It took him a while to convince the higher ups to even let him visit her, let alone to allow him to be by himself during those visits.

* * *

After dressing in his Recon Corps uniform, he went down to the basement where Annie's crystallized form was held. Walking up to the pedestal, he stepped onto the ledge so he was face to face with her.

Her eyes laid closed, her blonde locks loose and motionless.

''Hello, Annie.'' A soft smile formed on the boy's lips, ''I see... you visited me in another one of my dreams.'' his hands pressed flat against the crystallized form as he spoke.

''Do you truly... wish for forgiveness?'' Armin asked, ''...You did kill a lot of my comrades back then, but the thing is...'' he pressed his forehead against the ice, ''I'm willing to give you a second chance.''

_Crack_

Red rosed on the boy's cheeks, ''I-It's not what you think, I mean ummm..'' his eyes looked down as he became flustered, ''L-Like I said, you are... a nice person.'' He grinned at his own words, ''Most people think I'm an idiot for always coming down here to visit, actually... everyone thinks I'm an idiot for doing that.''

''I don't care though, I know one day you'll come back to us.'' Armin's sapphire orbs looked back towards her as he beamed, ''I enjoy coming here to talk to you, it gives me some kind of hope.''

''Someone forced you into doing all those bad things, didn't they?'' his eyes narrowed in suspicious as he thought about the theory, ''You don't seem like the type of person who would just do those sort of things without having a good reason.''

_Crack_

''Was it a human?''

''Or did a Titan somehow make you do this?'' He raised an eyebrow.

Armin ruffled his own hair in frustration, ''I don't why I'm asking you weird questions all of a sudden, sorry.''

_Crack_

''Actually... I have a mission tomorrow outside the walls, and I wanted to talk to you before I go...'' His hands slid down the ice as he frowned and look down, ''Who knows... this might even be the last time I will be able to visit you, but I shouldn't feel like that.''

Armin turned around to step off the ledge, ''...I'm not useless, I can actually be of some use to my team.'' he jumped off the ledge and looked back one last time ''I don't have to rely on Eren and Mikasa as much as I used to.'' he smiled before jumping back down onto the basement floor.

_Crack_

''But anyway, I have to go!'' He sighed, a little bit disappointed of leaving her so soon. ''I'll visit you right before my mission tomorrow, alright?''

Armin turned and walked away from crystal.

A sound caused him to freeze,

A large cracking sound emerged from behind him, ice collapsed and shattered. Smoke filled the area, and engulfed the human figure. Her heart began to beat, her eyes fluttered opened to reveal her icy blue eyes. The first thing her eyes caught was the back of the blonde boy who always found a way to visit her

''Armin...'' the feminine voice spoke, causing the boy to look behind. His eyes widened, he was instantly speechless from the astonishing sight in front of him.

The remains of the crystal faded away, leaving no traces behind. Annie stole a glance at her surroundings, then she looked at Armin who was of course looking back at her silently. Little did she know the happiness he felt inside, years of waiting for her to finally break free and his wish finally came true.

Tears filled her eyes, she began biting down on her bottom lip to attempt to hold them back but it was of no use. ''Would you really forgive me?'' her voice cracked.

Blinking, the blonde boy stared at her. His blue gaze met with hers, even Armin was startled by the sudden rush of his heartbeat. Her blonde locks laid loose on her shoulders, it wasn't too long but not too short either.

''Annie...'' he was tackled by the girl embracing him in a hug, his cheeks turned red as he blushed from the sudden affection from her, since it was unexpected.

''Every time you came to visit me, I remember every single thing you told me. Everything.'' Annie spoke through her sobbing, ''And there's something I've wanted to tell you...''

Annie pulled away, and what surprised the boy even more was when she wore a coy smile. Not a fake one, it was sincere and expressed her true feelings. For the first time, Annie truly showed how she felt instead of covering everything up with her usual monotone attitude. She took one of his hand in her palms and gently held it.

She looks down at their hands and mumbled words.

''W-What?'' Armin couldn't hear her clearly, he was already speechless and unable to speak at this point. He would've thought his hearing was dead at this point as well, he felt like a frightened puppy who was abandoned by it's family but also felt like an excited puppy who's about to go with a new family.

Annie looked back up at him, she repeated the words in a much clearer tone. ''I...'' she paused for a moment, possibly hesitating if she should really confess this.

''...I love you, Armin.'' her cheeks grew red, and it was noticeable that this was difficult for her to merely 'blurt out'.

Words didn't find their way out of the boy's mouth, he merely stood there motionless. He felt Annie's grip slightly tighten on his hand, not in anger but in reassurance. Armin almost laughed in disbelief but held it in so he wouldn't hurt her feelings.

What he felt for her... was it love?

He visited her every chance he got, just to talk to her. The conversations he used to have with her, motionless in that crystal would last for hours sometimes.

Love. He loved his friends, but not in any romantic way. He never considered romantic relationships with people, the boy just never exactly pictured himself being with anyone because he believed that he wasn't good enough for another person to dedicate their life to. Yet, here he was with a girl that just finished telling him those three words. Those simple three words that have entirely different meanings depending on how they are said and who they are said to.

And those words coming from Annie nonetheless was surprising enough in itself.

A strand of blonde hair was brushed away from her face by Armin's finger, ''Annie, is this true or are you merely telling me this to hide something from me?'' Armin bluntly asked, and Annie almost felt slightly intimidated.

''...Why would I say something like that if I'm hiding something?'' Her voice cracked, she couldn't believe he thought her words were just vulgar lies. ''I'm not lying!'' She hissed, her attitude grew more hostile as she angrily backed away from him.

Armin took a glance behind him to make sure no one overheard them, then looked back at Annie. He spoke in a softer tone, hoping it'll cause her to ease her tone. ''...Annie you shouldn't speak so loudly, I don't want anyone to overhear your voice and then we'll both end up suffering from the consequences.'' Armin explained.

''...I'm sorry.'' Tears streamed down her cheeks again, she backed away further and fell on her bottom. Burying her face in her arms, she couldn't help but have an emotional breakdown. ''I-I'm sorry...'' she repeatedly apologized.

He took a few steps towards her before slipping off his green recon corps cape, and knelt down in front of her. Leaning closer to her, he planted a soft kiss on her left cheek and covered her with the cape. Her body was cold, and he could see her shivering.

The sudden kind gesture caused her to look up and meet with his gaze, and almost instantly she buried her face into his chest and continued crying. Pulling her close to him, he rubbed her back up and down in a comforting motion and kept her in a warm embrace. ''Like I said, I'll give you a second chance. Pretend like everything in the past never happened.'' he wore a sincere smile.

Annie remained silent, but her sobbing had stopped. His hand motion on her back stopped, and there was a pause of silence between the two.

She could feel it, the way his breathing suddenly became unsteady. ''...Armin, are you crying?'' Annie asked in a hushed tone.

''No...'' He lied as the warm tears stung his eyes and streamed down his cheeks, ''I-I'm not, I'm... just filled with so much joy right now I don't know how to express it.'' Armin smiled while the tears still leaked out like a rushing waterfall.

''You're still such a wimp.'' Annie let out a small laugh as she hugged him tightly around his neck, nearly making him fall over. Armin hugged around her waist, making sniffling sounds from his crying.

''Annie, I have something to tell you.''

''What?''

''...I love you too.'' Annie's eyes widened, and there was an abrupt pause after he said that.

She shook her head and backed away from him instantly, ''No...''

A bewildered look appeared on the boy's face, first she was upset over him questioning why he said those words now she was doing the same? ''Annie...''

''No...'' Annie shook her head again, the way she was acting was out of character and even Armin knew that. She was acting like a fragile, lost little girl.

''You don't believe me?'' He narrowed her eyes at her, but then went over to her.

''...Armin, it's a mistake to have feelings for me.'' She abruptly said, ''People won't accept you, they won't accept us, just let me be, let me rot away in here, I'm not worth caring about. The things I've done, they've made me a horrible person. You deserve to be around someone better than me.''

He scoffed, ''You know, I didn't wait three years for nothing.'' his eyes looked away as a blush appeared on his face, ''I don't care if I'm making a mistake or not, I still want to get to know you better.''

Annie looked up at him, and noticed their height difference. It annoyed her in a way, but she pushed that feeling away. She huffed and crossed her arms, ''You're only treating me with kindness so you can get information out of me.'' she sent him a glare.

''If you feel uncomfortable with telling me anything...'' A hand rested on her shoulder, ''Then that's fine, like I said... Everything is in the past as of now.''

She hesitated but thought it over, looking down she exhaled and relaxed. ''...Thank you.''

Armin took her hand and brought it to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss. ''No Annie, thank you.''

The feeling of his lips on her hand sent a shiver down her spine, she wasn't used to the physical affection he was giving her. What she found strange was the way her cheeks began to heat up, it took Annie a moment to realize he was making her blush. What he felt for her wasn't a lie, and the same goes for what she felt for him.

''I'll give this a chance.'' Annie agreed, as a small smile formed on her lips as her cheeks remained rosy red.

* * *

A/N: I love this ship, I'm sorry. asdfghjkl; Review and give me opinions?~


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